Playing with the Queen of Hearts
by alliedoll
Summary: Kabuto wins a girl in a card game,and he's not quite sure what he wants to do with her.story is complete. final chapter has been posted.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own the minion or the rest of Naruto for that matter.

The bar was thick with the smell of smoke and beer. It was crowded because it was Friday night, and the patrons were those who'd worked all week and wished a small reprieve in the form of alcohol and perhaps a friendly wager at the poker tables.

The silver-haired young man sat down at the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey. The bars were a new secret pleasure of his, since he'd just turned 20, his country's legal drinking age. He thought he'd toss back a couple before sitting in on a game.

He watched the games that were currently going onto see if there were any players he could manipulate into parting with their hard-earned wages. He was reasonably lucky at cards, and he often wondered if that was proof of the old saying "lucky in cards, unlucky in love." After all, he was sitting alone in a bar on a Friday night.

At the table in the rear of the room, sat a pudgy middle-aged man with a slender young woman in his lap.

"Ana," he said to her. "Go fetch me a cider."

She approached the bar. The barkeep said, "What'll it be?"

"A cider for max, and a glass of white wine for me." She sat waiting for her drinks. The silver-haired man gave her an interested smile, but she looked right past him to Max and his poker companions.

He studied her for a few minutes. Her raven hair came to her chin, and it was tied back in a ribbon. She wore a pretty pink dress. He thought she looked a little like a doll he'd seen in a shop window recently.

She took the cider over to Max. He pulled her down into his lap, and he kissed her hard on the mouth. "We're winning, doll!" She smiled weakly and took her former place on the floor behind his chair.

The silver-haired man approached her and handed her the glass of wine. "You forgot this at the bar."

"Mind if I sit in this round," he said to the other players at the table.

"If you've got money, we've got room for you." Max sounded confident.

Ana sat quietly in the corner observing the newcomer. He looked naïve and too sure of himself. She watched him play and realized quickly that it was a façade designed to lure the others into a false sense of security. Soon no one was left to continue the game except for he and Max.

"I'll raise you 1000."

"I don't have it." Max looked as if he was ready to give up. He smiled. "But I'll tell you what, I'll throw in the girl."

Ana stood up. "You'll what?" she screamed.

"You heard me. If you win, you can have my wife."

The silver-haired man looked at Max, then at Ana whose green eyes bore holes through him angrily, then back at Max. "Very well, show your hand."

Max had three aces and two queens in his hand. "Full house, beat that punk!"

He looked down at his cards then laid them down on the table one by one, until in front of him lay four kings. "Four of a kind."

He placed the money from the table into his bag. He then whispered to Ana "Looks like you're mine."


	2. First night

Ana was silent the entire way to the hidden village of Sound. She simply stared at the moon and prayed to it that this guy wasn't as bad as the last one.

Max hadn't abused her, physically anyway. He'd promised her forever, and forever had lasted about two months. Still she continually forgave him. He'd fathered three children outside of their marriage in the five years that they'd been married. Ana was so devoted to him because he was the first person who'd ever told her that she was beautiful and that he loved her.

When Ana's parents had arranged the marriage contract between Max and Ana, Ana had been seventeen and Max was a wealthy businessman. A few months later, he lost most of his money by investing in high-risk business ventures. Instead of trying to figure out how to restructure his finances after receiving such a blow, Max lived in denial. He gambled and drank away the rest of it. Ana was the last thing he'd had, and now he didn't even have her.

Ana cursed herself for not realizing something like this would eventually happen. Especially after the argument they'd had a few days previously.

"Max, I've got a surprise for you."

"What is it, dollface?" Max seemed in an unusually good mood. He'd probably won a bit at the card tables.

She smiled sweetly. "We're going to have a baby." She couldn't contain her excitement. "Isn't that great!" She finally would have someone to spend her lonely days and nights with when Max chose to spend his somewhere else. A baby would love her no matter what its father thought of her.

"Ana, we talked about this. You know we can't afford it."

"We can afford it? You mean because you keep giving money to your other baby's mama. Look, Max, I know that money's not all you're giving her."

Max slapped Ana, and he said coldly to her "You've got to get rid of the child. If you don't, I'll do it for you."

"We're home." The silver-haired man declared. Ana hadn't noticed, but they'd reached a small blue house. It had an inviting front porch, on which sat a single rocking chair. He unlocked the door and turned on the lights. The main room was sparsely furnished. A wooden table and two chairs sat in the center of the room. On the right-hand wall was a blue sofa. On top of it were two pillows and a blanket in coordinating shades of blue.

To the right of the main room was a small kitchen area. At the rear of the house, there was a bedroom and a bathroom. The bedroom contained an overflowing bookcase and a queen-sized bed. The bed was covered with a navy and maroon patchwork quilt. The entire house was kept neat. All Ana could tell about this man from looking at the house was that he lived alone.

"My name is Kabuto, and from I gathered earlier, you are Ana." He hadn't introduced himself previously because he really didn't want to get attached. She just looked around.

"You're probably tired." He went to a closet and pulled out a towel and washcloth. He then went into the bedroom and began rifling through the drawers. He pulled out a black t-shirt and green plaid pajama pants. "This will do for now. We can go into town in the morning and get you something more suitable."

She ran her bath. Instead of staying to watch her bathe, Kabuto went into the kitchen. After he finished making a pot of tea, he sat down and began reading the novel he started that afternoon completely ignoring the presence of the girl.

Ana puzzled at this. She figured he would be trying to tear off her clothes and drag her into his bed immediately upon entering the house.

"What am I going to do with her?" he thought. "Orochimaru-sama might could use a girl." No ideas came to his mind. Until he made a decision, he guessed it wouldn't hurt to keep her here.

When she finished her bath, hebrought her a cup of tea and a peanut butter and honey sandwich. He sat next to her on the bed, and he asked, "Can I brush your hair?"

She's a little bit freaked out by this, but she quietlysaid "I guess so."

He moved behind her and placed on of his hands on her right shoulder. The other hand brushed her hair. He ran his hands through her hair, and he decided he could brush it forever. It was soft, black and shiny. He massaged the back of her neck and her shoulders lightly.

"Tell me about yourself," she figured she should get to know him a little if she'd be living with him.

"I don't know if you've heard of the great Sannin, Orochimaru. I'm his chief confidante." Kabuto seemed very proud of this and extremely devoted to his master.

"So you're a glorified servant who caters to his every whim?"

"I make sure he is well taken care of, yes."

"In every way?" She said teasingly.

"Well…" Kabuto stammered. He hadn't been prepared to answer this. He knew what she implied, and he knew also that the rest of the sound ninjas believed that he was sexually involved with Orochimaru. Truthfully, where he was at right now, he might have welcomed sexual attention from him. It would have been better than none at all.

Kabuto had been with women before, but they were prostitutes, and women that you pay don't really care about you. They are just there to make a living like everyone else. He sighed. "You wouldn't understand."

"You can have the bed," he said. "I'll sleep in the other room."

"No, stay." She realized she'd upset him, so she thought it would smooth the situation. She lay down under the covers. He crawled in next to her, and lay next to her. She rolled onto her side and pulled his arm over her and snuggled in close. At least she could pretend something existed between them.

"Good night," she whispered.

"Good night."


	3. Complications?

Two months had passed, and Kabuto and Ana had settled into a comfortable routine. Most mornings he went out early and performed whatever duties Orochimaru required of him that day. Then he returned in the evening. It reminded Ana a little of old movies she'd seen where the man returned home to his house and wife at the end of a workday.

Of course, she knew very little about his actual work. He shielded her from the horrors Orochimaru made him commit. They would only make her unnecessarily afraid. Instead, he focused on the more menial aspects of his job when he talked to her.

Orochimaru had required his assistance less since his fight against Uzamaki Naruto. When Naruto severely injured him with the Rasengan, Orochimaru's confidence in Kabuto was undermined.

"You have failed me. A ninja as powerful as you should not have been beaten by the likes of him."

Kabuto's eyes couldn't meet those of Orochimaru. He felt ashamed. "I underestimated him. It won't happen again."

"I doubt I'll give you the chance to let it happen again."

"I will not fail you Orochimaru-sama."

'Leave my sight; you disgust me."

He was lucky he hadn't been killed that night. Orochimaru would not hesitate to eliminate him if he displeased him any further. Though his physical wounds had fully healed, little had been done to restore Orochimaru's faith in him.

Kabuto sipped his tea. Other things troubled him as well.

Ana's appetite had increased monstrously, and her love of food was beginning to show. She'd gained a lot of weight since she'd arrived, and she needed new clothes. He thought he would surprise her by taking her shopping. That's why they had come to town today.

She had grown extremely moody, as well. One minute she was all smiles, and the next the most insignificant comment would send her into fits of hysterical crying. He never knew what to say to her.

All of a sudden it hit him, and he realized he should have noticed sooner. Any man who had lived with a woman for longer than a month should have noticed if she hadn't had her monthly cycle. Still he had to know for sure.

"Sit still." He said. He attempted to scan her chakra non-intrusively as he'd been taught during his med-nin training. He touched her shoulder, and then he ran his hand down her back.

Her chakra felt unbalanced. He felt two very different energies flowing through her. The two energies were not battling for supremacy, as they might in a case of demonic possession. Instead, the two types of chakra coexisted harmoniously.

"So what are you going to do about it?" He asked nonchalantly as he poured her another cup of tea.

"About what?"

"The baby." No expression crossed his face.

She couldn't hide it any longer since she was starting to show.

"Well for starters," she said sarcastically. "I'm going to name it. Then I'm going to feed and clothe it. When it gets sleepy, I'll sing to it. I'll raise it, make sure it goes to school, and generally provide for it until it's an adult. You know the usual mom stuff."

"So you want to keep it"

Ana just glared at him.

"That's cool," was his only response.

Another nonchalant answer, she thought.

Inwardly, he was smiling. "I want to be there for you."

"What can you do for me?"

"Well, if you stay with me, you'll at least have a place to live. Not to mention since I'm a medic you won't be stuck if any complications arise. Plus, it'll make it easier when the time comes."

Coming home to an empty house every night had grown tiresome to Kabuto. He'd been alone almost his entire life, and now he had someone waiting for him. Soon it would be two someones.


	4. Resolve

Ana had turned into a horny psychotic witch. It was the hormones, he'd guessed. A simple touch could send her over the edge with desire. Sometimes they made love three times a day.

"I ought to get involved with pregnant women more often," he thought. Immediately he ceased that line of reasoning. After all, he couldn't really see himself involved with anyone else.

He liked Ana because she wasn't demanding. That seemed silly because he wanted to give her everything he had, but he was accustomed to being controlled. From the time he was a small child, Orochimaru was the only person in his life who'd shown him any regard. Kabuto owed him his life in many ways. With Ana it was different. She simply loved him for what he was.

They lay on the bed, enveloped in each other's arms, bathing in the afterglow of their passionate union. She caressed his hair playfully and kissed him lightly on the back of the neck.

"I love you," he whispered sleepily.

"Me too." She replied.

It struck her suddenly that she meant it. Unlike Max, Kabuto was ecstatic about the pregnancy. In fact, he seemed rather obsessed. He read every book he could find on the subject of childbirth, so he would be ready when the time came. He foresaw no major complications, but one could never be too careful.

Before Ana had moved in, Kabuto's daily diet had consisted of chicken nuggets, sugary cereals, and loads of soda. Because of Ana's prenatal nutritional requirements, suggested to him in many volumes of informational literature, his eating habits had changed dramatically. He cooked a lot more vegetables, and he made sure that they both drank lots of milk.

Ana's presence had a calming influence on him. He slept a lot better at night. His daily schedule had become more balanced. He no longer stayed up through the night and slept half of the next day.

"What names have you thought of," he asked her.

"Lara, if it's a girl. Maybe Jaren if it's a boy."

There was no doubt that she was the perfect girl for him.

The following morning Orochimaru summoned Kabuto to his dwelling at the heart of the sound village. The topic of this meeting was as always the plot to destroy Konoha.

Summoning Manda, the snake God Orochimaru drew his powers from, always took a staggering toll of human lives. The exact number and type varied depending on the mood of the insatiable snake. For this reason alone, Kabuto had been extremely careful regarding Ana and her whereabouts. If Orochimaru discovered her presence, he would most likely kill her.

He wouldn't kill her because she posed the ninjas of the hidden sound any threat. He would kill her to test Kabuto's loyalty to him and his cause. Kabuto was not sure how he would respond given the choice. He had served Orochimaru for most of his life, and he claimed to be his most loyal and trusted confidante. However, Ana, in the short time he had known her had shown him an amount of love he thought did not exist. Orochimaru, Kabuto knew merely used him as a tool to gain power. Kabuto was gifted enough that he hoped once Orochimaru gained power, that he could be eliminated, and Kabuto himself would take over as leader over the vast ninja empire he'd helped create.

"Kabuto, Manda has said that he will not work for me unless he has twenty lives."

"Twenty is a more reasonable amount than he has asked for in quite a while. We should be able to manage that easily. When do we need them by?"

"The plan is set to take place in three weeks. By then the rest of my legions should have infiltrated Konoha to lay the foundations for our large-scale assault."

Three weeks would be plenty of time for Kabuto to gather the necessary victims needed to quell the ever-present bloodlust of the snake god. By all calculations, Ana would have the child within the next two weeks or so, and he'd have plenty of time to spend caring for her.

"The reason why the number is so low this time is because Manda only wants the most innocent of blood. He wants infants."

"Infants?" Kabuto thought frantically. What could he do? He had no wish displease Orochimaru. Holding back a baby that he never should have become attached to in the first place would be a primary step to displeasing Orochimaru. On the other hand, he could not betray Ana in such a way. Everything he had with her would perish.

He knew what he had to do. Ana would have to leave the village of the sound, and she'd have to do it soon.


	5. Away

He had to act quickly, but he knew he couldn't move until after she had the baby. All of the supplies he needed for the birth were in the house.

"Please let her have the child soon," he thought.

The vision was of Orochimaru holding the baby above the fire used in the sacrifice ritual, chanting the ancient poems. He held the child by the ankle and dropped it into the fire without even a glance. The screams of the infant permeated Kabuto's mind and cut through his dreams. He woke up with a start and ran to the door, making sure it was still locked. He then checked all the windows.

He could still hear Orochimaru laughing maniacally. "Kabuto, we will crush Konoha." In the background, Ana was sobbing loudly, and he could still hear the screams of the baby.

Finally, he awoke in actuality. Ana slept peacefully beside him. He lay back down and slept; though he was troubled.

The baby came a week later. It was a short labor; it lasted only two hours. There were no complications, and she only called for the mildest of anesthetics. The result was a baby boy named Jaren.

Ana held the swaddled child close to her. Kabuto lay beside her on the bed.

"Ana, we have to leave tonight. It's not safe for you and Jaren here anymore." He was close to tears. "Orochimaru wants your baby, and I can't let him have it."

"Where will we go?"

He didn't answer her. Instead he began packing her things and things for the child into two bags.

"You're not coming with us?"

" I have to stay here. If I don't, Orochimaru will know I've been hiding something from him. He will track us down and kill us all."

They stole away after dark and made their way into a neighboring town. They reached an inn. Kabuto said, "You'll be staying here for a while. I've already reserved the room. For the record, everyone believes you are my wife and that the child is ours."

Ana smiled at that thought, even though she knew it was likely only a ruse to make the arrangements easier.

"So this is it?" she asked sadly.

"You need to go inside, and I need to get back."

"So you're leaving me?"

"Ana, I love you. I'm doing this right now because I love you, and I don't want Orochimaru to be able to hurt you. There are things about my work you wouldn't understand; things I'll be able to tell you when we've been together longer. I thought I could shield you from them, but now I know better. You have to trust me. I will come back."

He pulled her to him and kissed her with all the passion his heart held for her. He then lay a small kiss on the child's forehead.

"Goodbye Ana. Goodbye Jaren."

He turned and walked away without looking back.

Ana walked into the common room of the inn.

"Oh yes, I have your room ready. Before you go up would you like some dinner? Your husband advised me you'd likely be hungry when you came." The innkeeper was a widow, matronly and jolly. She was the type that provided her guests with all the comforts she had at her disposal before they even realized they needed them.

Tears still filled Ana's eyes as she answered. "I would like a bath, so I can freshen up before dinner if it's not too much trouble."

"I'll bring fresh towels up to your room in a bit, lovey. I say, what a lovely baby boy. Looks just like you, he does. Doesn't take after his father a bit."

Ana hoped silently that Jaren never did take after Max as she ascended the staircase to her room.

She lay down on the bed and sobbed for about fifteen minutes.

"Looks like we're alone again," she whispered. Jaren simply smiled up at her. He seemed content just to be there. Her sadness subsided. Kabuto had his reasons, so she would simply bide her time.

She ran a bath. It did wonders for her body and her spirit. Both her tension and sorrow melted in the heat of the bath water. She felt completely refreshed upon exiting the tub. She donned a simple blue dress and went down to dinner.

She chose a table in the corner so she could survey the entire room. She liked to people watch. Coming from the back of the room, she heard the cheers and groans of men involved in a card game. Over the rest of the noise, she heard a familiar voice.

"We're on top again, doll. Go get me another whiskey to celebrate."

A young blonde woman came across the room, approaching the bar.

" A whiskey for Max and a glass of white wine for me."

Max called out to her. "Make sure it's on the rocks!"

"Yeah, On the rocks!" the bartender replied. " I heard you, Max!"

Ana listened in on the game. She wanted to approach the girl and say "Get out before it's too late. Before he takes your heart away and you don't have anything left to give to someone else."

Instead she sat silently and rocked her baby. She sang him a quiet lullaby as she sipped a glass of juice.

888888

Max saw Ana out of the corner of his eye. She was holding a baby, his baby. In between card games, the men were conversing about other things. Max took this opportunity to approach her. He turned to his blonde companion. "I'll be back in a second, doll. Keep my seat warm."

"Ana Doll, how's it going?"

"Hey," she said flatly "What do you want?"

"To see how you and little Max Jr. are doing."

"His name is Jaren." She corrected sharply. "And we're doing fine without you."

"Ana, you can't still hold all that against me. It was six whole months ago."

"No I don't hold it against you." Her tone softened only a bit. "Looks like you've kept yourself busy." Ana gestured towards the blonde.

"Oh, you mean Ria. That's just a fling. You and me, we were the real deal."

"Yeah, sure. Look, Max, you just go on with your life and I'll pretend I never met you."

"Ana I want to take care of you and the baby."

"Max go take care of your other illegitimate brats and leave us alone."

He walked away stunned. Ana continued rocking Jaren as if nothing happened.


	6. Epilogue

Kabuto returned to the hidden village of Sound. His eyes were red-rimmed and his face a bit tear-streaked. He missed her already, and he knew he would have a rough time ahead.

In the morning Orochimaru would expect him to prepare the children for the sacrifice. This time it caused him to shudder because he thought of Jaren. He thought of the parents that he would hurt and the lives that would never come to be because of the selfish appetite of the demon-snake. Still, he couldn't let Orochimaru know anything was amiss.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru greeted him warmly "I was afraid you'd overslept. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I've secured the victims. I convinced a group of unwed mothers that their children would be better off if they sold them as slaves. I paid them 25 beri a head for each child. That will feed their others handsomely for a few weeks."

"Excellent."

Kabuto knew that he was wrong for convincing the women to sell their children into slavery, and he knew that Ana would never have fallen for such a cheap ploy. He tried to blame the women for their greed, but he knew it was society's fault in the end for creating situations desperate enough that a woman would even consider doing such a dreadful thing.

"Are we ready to begin?"

"Yes Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru began reading from the ancient scroll as Kabuto gave a tranquilizer to the first infant victim. At least they wouldn't suffer as they died, he thought. Though he knew instinctively it wasn't true.

The flames burned high as Orochimaru grabbed the first child by the ankle. As he said the final phrase of the enchantment, he threw the child headfirst into the inferno. Kabuto said a silent prayer that Ana and Jaren were still safe, and that he could get out of this arrangement he had with Orochimaru as soon as possible. Until then, this was all in a day's work.


	7. Chapter 7

Five Years Later:

Ana was cooking supper. On the stove were sugar snap peas and rice with sautéed mushrooms. In the oven, a chicken was baking. A pie she made for dessert cooled on the windowsill. Hopefully Jaren hadn't sneaked a taste when she wasn't looking.

"Jaren, Mara, dinner is almost ready." She yelled out the door of her small, white house. "Get cleaned up good, your father will be home soon."

A three-year-old with braids in her silvery hair came running through the door. Her brother trailed behind her.

"Mommy! Mommy! Daddy's here! Daddy's here!" She shouted excitedly.

Ana smiled as she finished pouring drinks. Then she greeted her husband with a tender kiss at the door.


End file.
